Chapter 588: Soldier (8)

“Distort.”

BOOOOOOM—!!

Dmitri thrust out a straight punch.

With every bit of strength loaded into the foot planted on the ground, he delivered one heavy blow to Careo.

CRUUUUNCH—!

Just as the skill’s name implied, the dazzling full plate armor Careo wore, as if to proclaim the greatness of the Great Parion Empire, warped out of shape.

And then—

“Ghaaaaaak!”

An ominous sound rang out from Careo’s body as he flew backward, vomiting blood.

CRACK, CRUNCH, SNAP—!

It was the sound of bones twisting and breaking.

Careo could not believe it.

There was an outsider this strong!?

Even while sprawled on the ground, he shouted.

“Grod!!”

Grod was the other knight who had raised and trained the cavalry with him all his life.

He was Careo’s equal.

Though they belonged to nothing more than the Parion Empire’s lowest-ranked 9th Knight Order, the two of them were strong enough to stand on the level of knight commanders in most kingdoms.

But when Careo turned his head—

“Ghaaaaaaak!!”

He saw Grod screaming, Trigger’s dagger buried in his heart.

“Grod......!”

The end of his lifelong childhood friend was drawing near.

Even with his broken body, Careo forced himself up.

“Ghaaak!”

“Aaaaagh!”

“Ghhhuuuk!”

The cavalry that had lost its horses weakened at terrifying speed.

It was not simply that they had grown physically weaker.

In an instant, they turned into a rabble.

There was no way men who had learned nothing but mounted combat could perform without horses.

Of course—

Of the four hundred thousand enemies, fewer than ten thousand remained.

But what did it mean that they had survived until now?

SLAAASH—!

Careo squeezed out his strength and moved like a flash of light, cutting past Dmitri, but light rippled from that massive fist and restored him on its own.

The fact that they had survived meant they were strong.

Ten thousand.

Many of the high-Level users stood over the Parion Empire Army as it hurtled toward annihilation.

“Ca......reo.......”

Grod, his dear friend, wept as he died, his entire body skewered by daggers.

He had only just been married.

Just yesterday, Grod had invited him over after the birth of his daughter, and Careo had visited his house and enjoyed a meal.

‘Hahaha, she takes after her father. That’s a problem!’

He had even held Grod’s tiny young daughter and doted on her.

“Why......?”

Standing firm as he watched the enemies approaching them, Careo could not understand why he had to suffer such misfortune.

Grod’s family would now have to lose its head of household.

Careo was no different.

His own end saddened him, after he had thrown himself into battle to give his elderly mother, already living well, an even better life.

“Why the hell are you doing this......!!!”

Careo’s legs gave out, and he slumped to the ground.

At that moment—

Dmitri pulled down his mask.

“......You!?”

Careo’s face turned deathly pale when he saw Dmitri’s face.

There had once been a group of bizarre believers.

They worshipped both healing power and strength, and they were believers who enjoyed fighting.

Some called them heretics, but the important thing was that they had never harmed anyone.

However—

The Parion Empire named them a cult, a religion that must not exist.

The cavalry with Careo at its head had torn down their temple and killed the believers, including the pope.

Among them had been five newborn babies.

At the time—

Unlike the others who had simply died, there had been one person who possessed an immortal body because he was an “outsider.”

‘Why are you doing this......?’

They had not answered his question.

They had simply delivered the final blow.

That was right.

Dmitri had joined this battlefield partly because he saw possibility in it.

But the chilling thing was that many of the people Hyun and Nell had supported as “soldiers” had had something stolen from them by Parion.

Careo realized that his question—why he had to suffer misfortune—was foolish.

The karma of the past had simply fallen over him.

They, too, had stolen what was precious from others.

“I see. Soldiers.......”

As he realized the reasons of the nameless soldiers, Careo gripped his sword tight.

“You worthless pieces of shit!!”

But Careo and the knights were imperial supremacists to the bone from birth.

They believed from the marrow of their bones that having their own things stolen was sad, but stealing from others and climbing over them was joy.

Careo’s face twisted like a demon’s, without even the slightest regret for the past.

Dmitri blew his head apart without the slightest pang of guilt.

BOOOOOOM—!!!

THUDUDUDUK—!

[You have executed Careo, captain of the Parion Empire cavalry.]

[He has taken and plundered 3,312 innocent lives until now.]

Dmitri had also heard this from Nell.

‘The Parion Empire has plundered many things until now and reigned as the emperor of Ares. But if you look at the framework of the world called Ares, when you stand against it, there should be a reward to match.’

Soon, a notification rang out.

[Secret Quest: Resistance Force complete.]

Dmitri read through the description of Resistance Force.

‘Those who have been robbed until now, rise up and strike back at them.’

After reading it, Dmitri looked around, and the surviving users, including Trigger, were all marveling.

“So there was a quest like this.”

“Secret Quest: Resistance Force?”

That quest—

[You have led the first battle to victory.]

[All participating users acquire 3 bonus points.]

DING!

[An astonishing achievement.]

[The gold and EXP for hunting the 100,000 cavalry soldiers will be applied at x2.]

“Huh......?”

“Are these rewards insane?”

“Three bonus points!?”

Most of the users who had participated enjoyed the joy of victory.

The growth of the high-Level users who had contributed greatly was especially dazzling, and Dmitri looked at Kkokko nearby.

He wrote a letter, and Kkokko flew up.

KIEEEEEEEEE—!

The firebird that had flown away returned not long after.

What is it?

Dmitri, who had reported the result, saw the contents of the written letter and realized he had made a mistake.

—What are the casualty figures for our side and the enemy?

He realized he had left out what was actually important.

More than four hundred thousand users had participated, so the casualties were enormous.

However—

—Enemy force of 100,000 annihilated. Verd Territory forces suffered no damage.

The nameless soldiers were strictly not included in Verd Territory, and in reality, Verd Territory’s forces had suffered no damage at all.

“Ah, that was fun.”

“Got rewards, landed a blow on those arrogant Parion Empire bastards, and had a good time for the first time in a while.”

“Where are you going now?”

“Back to the kingdom I was originally in. Want to come hunt with me?”

“Sure.”

Dmitri watched as the users returned, one by one, to the places where they had originally belonged.

They had places to return to.

I envy them.

Then Trigger, who had fought alongside him, approached.

“Dmitri, where will you go?”

Trigger and the assassins had a place to return to.

Though their leader had died, Trigger could take the center and lead the assassin group.

Dmitri smiled bitterly.

“Who knows.......”

Trigger noticed one thing from that subtle answer, but did not say it aloud.

“May God’s blessing be with you.......”

Trigger gave his own farewell and disappeared with the assassins.

A vast battlefield.

With an exhausted look on his face, Dmitri sat limply on a broken tree.

Is this the end?

Not long ago, Dmitri had fought Valhalla and had been defeated in barely two minutes.

He had witnessed a giant mountain.

Also, Dmitri had originally intended to leave this world called Ares after the World Championship ended.

Many things flashed before Dmitri’s eyes.

Dmitri, who had once been a third-rate thug, had spat phlegm at priests and been beaten on the spot like a dog.

When he woke after losing consciousness and opened his eyes, his teacher, Andrio, had been there.

A named NPC.

At Andrio’s appearance, he had thought this must be the lucky break he had only heard about, and that he would be able to suck him dry.

NPCs were that kind of existence.

But as time passed, his thoughts changed.

He liked that church.

He liked his teacher Andrio’s church.

Of course, in a way, it was closer to a cult.

Because the “god” they served did not exist.

But they had done nothing wrong.

Rather, they were great.

People who could possess divine power despite serving no god.

That power was enough to be acknowledged by anyone.

But now that Dmitri had even finished taking revenge for his teacher, he no longer felt any reason or need to keep playing this game.

That was right.

What Trigger had noticed—

Starting today, the user Dmitri, ranked first among priests, would no longer log into Ares and would leave.

Users called it quitting the game.

“Hup.”

Dmitri got up.

Before leaving, he looked around the forest and spoke.

“Log—”

But faster than he could—

FWOOOOSH—

A flame rose up.

The man who appeared with the fire was very handsome.

He was also tall, and his sturdy frame made one wonder whether he was a blacksmith or a warrior.

He was so famous that even Dmitri knew him.

It was Hyun.

“What business do you still have? You’re greedy.”

This was the man who had used him as a soldier without giving him anything.

He was young, but not childish.

He looked weak, but was not weak.

“At least pay me if you’re going to order me around.”

At Dmitri’s teasing words, Hyunsoo tilted his head.

“Huh? What are you talking about? Do I look that shameless?”

“Yeah.”

“.......”

A brief silence passed between them.

Dmitri was a high-ranker too, and he had often heard stories about Hyun.

He also already knew what Hyun’s reward would likely be.

“A gauntlet? No need.”

What use would he have for an artifact Hyun crafted when he was going to quit the game anyway?

At that, Hyun said,

“You’re getting way ahead of yourself.”

“......???”

That made it one to one.

But that was not what mattered.

“Whatever you give me, I don’t need—”

But Hyunsoo was one step faster.

“Firebird.”

As Dmitri burned hot, he thought that this man named Hyunsoo truly never listened to people until the end.

Money?

Honor?

Whatever he gave as repayment, Dmitri, who was leaving anyway, did not need it.

Because I already lost everything.

That day, in the burning temple, Dmitri had lost everything in the land called Ares.

Then Dmitri opened his eyes and froze.

“???”

The day the Parion Empire Army had invaded.

The temple where Andrio had been, where everything had shattered and collapsed.

It had been restored cleanly.

No.

It had not simply been restored.

Far finer trees, flowers, and beauty filled the place.

And where Andrio’s name had once been engraved, a new name was carved.

‘Pope Dmitri.’

When Dmitri turned back in shock, Hyunsoo spoke.

“The first thing I did after succeeding in Ares was restore my father’s forge. Not just because I needed a forge. Because my memories and my father’s convictions were there.”

Hyunsoo patted his shoulder and handed him a slip of paper.

“Your teacher, Andrio, hid thousands of his believers in various places before the Parion Empire invaded. Surprisingly, he was someone with ties to Kabel.”

One by one, the reasons Hyun had approached him were revealed.

“Kabel asked him, ‘Why did you choose an outsider as your successor?’ And Andrio answered.”

“That even after he died, Dmitri would be able to ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) lead this church.”

Dmitri looked at the note.

Written on the note were the locations where thousands of priests, hidden by Andrio and spared from death that day, were living.

Dmitri gripped the note tightly.

SQUEEZE—

“Many NPCs left, and they left something behind for users.”

Dmitri did not need Hyunsoo to say what it was.

What they had left behind.

A new age led by users.

Dmitri would lead that new age and become the man named Pope Dmitri.

After staring at the note clenched in his hand for a long time, Dmitri finally spoke.

“How much did it cost?”

“About two billion?”

“That isn’t much.”

“......?”

Hyunsoo was flustered.

Was he always this kind of person?

Dmitri, who had built his own temple, and the members of his church would be strong.

After all, from the beginning, they had been unusual people who enjoyed fighting.

So forming a connection with them would not be a bad thing.

And on another level, Hyunsoo had also remembered how, after losing everything and then recovering it, he had restored the forge first, and he had invested that huge sum.

But Dmitri, who accepted it as if it were only natural, disappointed him.

Every user has a different personality, I guess. Tsk.

Just as Hyunsoo started to feel pointlessly bitter—

“I mean that isn’t much, considering the nation of Hyun is getting our church.”

“......What?”

“Will you accept us?”

Dmitri held out his hand with an embarrassed smile, and Hyunsoo grasped it tightly.

“Welcome, Dmitri.”

[Dmitri has joined Hyun’s Forge guild.]

The age of NPCs was ending, and the age of users was coming.

At its center stood the nation of Hyun’s 3rd Corps commander, Priest of Strength Dmitri.